The American Folk Art Museum is committed to change and to acknowledging that we must do more to dismantle the systems of racism, colonialism, and inequality upon which museums have been built. We are dedicated to examining our organizational structure, championing anti-racism, and reaffirming our inclusive vision for self-taught art across time and place.
While we identify our internal next steps as an institution, we share this list of resources for learning more about race in art and visual and material culture, as well as actions that can be taken to support the Black Lives Matter movement and those working towards a fair and just world.
- The Association for Critical Race Art History
- The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art’s platform, Talking About Race
- JSTOR’s Institutionalized Racism Syllabus offers articles that provide context for broader patterns of institutionalized racism in the United States
- The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture’s Black Liberation Reading List
- The Black Craftspeople Digital Archive (@blackcraftspeopleda on Instagram)
- The Weeksville Heritage Center
- Ways to support and learn more about Black Lives Matter
- A list of Twitter users providing captions for Black Lives Matter related content
- The official website of Black Lives Matter
- Ways to support and learn more about Black Lives Matter
- Equal Justice Initiative
- Color of Change
- The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Photo of American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection (detail of installation) by Olya Vysotskaya. Artworks: Rhoda Goodrich (Mrs. William Northrop) Bentley and Daughter; Ammi Phillips (1788-1865); Lebanon Springs, New York; 1815-1820; Oil on canvas (in original frame); 34 x 27; Gift of Ralph and Bobbi Terkowitz; 2019.3.1; Photo by Gavin Ashworth. The Apple Paring; Clementine Hunter (1886/1887–1988); Natchitoches, Louisiana, c. 1945; Oil on paper; Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York; Gift of the Mildred Hart Bailey and the Clementine Hunter Art Trust; 1996.1.1; Photo by Gavin Ashworth. Frank Peters; Joseph P. Aulisio (1910–1974); Old Forge, Pennsylvania; 1965; Oil on Masonite; 27 1/4 x 19 1/2 in.; Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York; Gift of Arnold B. Fuchs, 1978.8.1; Photo by Gavin Ashworth; Memories of the Veteran; Nick Quijano Torres (b. 1953); Old San Juan, Puerto Rico; 1984; lacquered gouache on paper; 12 1/4 × 12 1/4 in.; Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Dorothea and Leo Rabkin, 1984.2.1.; The Dining Room Lady; Lorenzo Scott (b. 1934); Atlanta, Georgia; 1990; Oil on canvas; 30 x 24; Gift of Havie and Charles Abney; 2017.17.1; Photo by John Parnell.